One Night Stand

Chapter 6

    Unfortunately for Nicole it was a slow morning at 51. After the introduction a candidate named Steven Morris was told to give her and Driver a tour of the firehouse. She just took in the essential places down: rigs, gym, kitchen and beds.
    Morris seemed to have an endless stream of questions for Nicole. How long she'd been a firefighter? How long had she been in Chicago? And lots of questions about her squad experience.
    Some questions she answered honestly but others she dodged by giving general answers. Even though the constant questions got old pretty quickly, she actually liked Morris. He was obviously driven and really wanted on squad. His attitude reminded her of herself, Mike and Leslie early on in their careers.
    Another thing Nicole noticed noticed during the tour was lieutenant Driver's sour mood. She had already pegged him as someone who thrived on attention and believed his rank meant he deserved the lion's share of everyone's attention. She'd dealt with plenty fo boss types like him so she was only slightly concerned.
    They ended the tour in the kitchen area where everyone was sitting around. Nicole figured this was the perfect opportunity for Driver to get some attention so she backtracked to the gym to investigate more thoroughly.
    The gym wasn't anything special but Nicole knew she'd spend a good chunk of time there. In one corner hung a speed bag and a heavy bag. There was also free weights, a bench press, a treadmill, an elliptical and a home gym. Nothing overly fancy but enough to keep her busy during any down time that she didn't feel like sleeping.
    Nicole would never claim to be a fitness nut but she definitely stayed in shape. She, Mike and Rachel had started karate when they were young and besides enjoying it, they were good. They all advanced through the belts fairly quickly. As they got older they became interested in various forms of martial arts and they all had numerous belts to show for their efforts. They had always pushed each other to achieve more, to the point where they occasionally did amateur MMA fights. They would spar frequently but Rachel and Nicole refused to face off in an official fight.
    Nicole was brought out of her thoughts when the door opened. She turned and saw a familiar face.
    "I thought I might find you in here."
    "Well, you thought right." Nicole said with a warm smile hoping this wouldn't turn awkward. In a friendly tone she asked, "What can I do for you lieutenant Rafferty?" For the first time today Nicole was grateful to chief Bailey for being somewhat thorough goring his introductions earlier. For the few moments between her seeing the roommate and the introductions she was wracking her brain for Rafferty's name.
He closed the door and said, "Well I'll get right to the point cause you don't seem like the type to bullshit around."
"Impressively accurate observation. What's on your mind?" Nicole asked, slightly worried about where this was going.
Before he could answer the alarm went off. "Ambulance 61 person in distress..."
"Not us yet." He said with a smile and continued, "Look I just want to know why you're here, at 51 of all the houses in Chicago."
Nicole laughed and replied, "I was asking myself the same question when I saw you and Amb... Gray."
"You can call her by either name, doesn't really matter. I have to admit I am impressed you remember both of our names." Rafferty commented.
    Nicole didn't want to raise to the bait, it seemed like he was trying to get under her skin for some reason she just wasn't sure what this was about. But she decided to be honest in her response even though it made her look a little bad. "Honestly I recognized you both immediately but I couldn't remember your name. Bailey refreshed my memory."
    "Well I appreciate the honesty and in turn I have to honestly ask again why are you here? Cause Gray's been through hell the last month or two and she really doesn't need any shit right now." Rafferty admitted. He looked up and saw a strange look on Nicole's face and added, "It has nothing to do with you, let's just say life sucks and Gray has had taste when it comes to women, no offense."
    "I'm sorry to hear that Gray's having a rough time but I guess it's good I'm not to blame. That would make things more awkward than they already are I guess." Nicole said hesitantly. It sounded cold but she wasn't sure how to respond. She didn't want to air all her troubles to Rafferty but by the look on his face she had to tell him him something. She took a deep breath and said, "I don't want to get into it but I've had a rough few months as well with stuff. I needed a change of scenery and a bit of family closeness so I moved to Chicago. I've been floating for a couple months and then I got assigned here. Bailey is friends with my grandpa, retired fire chief Davin, so that's what's got me here. If it's a problem for Gray I'll do what I can to switch shifts or transfer."
    Rafferty nodded and thought for a moment before he spoke, "We'll let you know." Then he turned and left.
    Nicole walked over to the speed bag and hit it as hard as she could. She was annoyed by the conversation with Rafferty. She understood the protective best friend thing but he made it sound like he was talking on Gray's behalf. Why didn't Gray just come speak for herself? She didn't seem the type who needed others to fight her battles, but maybe Nicole had misjudged Gray. One thing seemed clear though, being in this house may be more difficult than she originally thought.